No Surprises

R. & B. singer and coward Chris Brown has managed to make a bad situation worse. In People magazine, Ken Lee reports that “the musician pleaded not guilty in a Los Angeles courtroom Monday to two felony counts—assault and making criminal threats—in the alleged Feb. 8 beating of his girlfriend Rihanna.”

Jan Hoffman’s recent, excellent piece in the New York Times suggests that the behavior of stars like Brown and Rihanna only reinforces deeply ingrained assumptions about what is acceptable in relationships between men and women. That Rihanna didn’t have the bravery to call out Brown in the first place is sad, but understandable. That Brown isn’t man enough to own his violence is despicable.

The recluse and occasional rapper Eminem, also an expert at being hostile to women in precarious states, is back with more of the same. It would be really impressive to see Eminem go at someone his own size, though he’s never had the guts to do it before, so it’s no surprise he’s not doing it now in the winter of his cultural relevance. (If you are looking for a genuinely entertaining misogynist, download this Bo Bliz mixtape of Schoolly D songs, which sets the standard for “ignorant rap,” in the best and worst sense.)